Darrin Drda was born in the Midwest in 1968, with Sagittarius rising and Sun, Moon, and Venus in Leo. He took to art at a young age, bypassing stick figures and going straight to Snoopy, later winning various awards including a BA in Graphic Design from the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana.

After trying his hand at painting signs, illustrating textbooks, laying out newspapers, drawing political cartoons, writing about religion and food, traveling the world, living among Tibetans in India, and leading a rock band called Theory of Everything, Darrin moved to the Left Coast to pursue a Master's degree in Philosophy, Cosmology, and Consciousness (i.e. everything) from The California Institute of Integral Studies. During this period he authored his first real book (The Four Global Truths), met his wife, Annabelle, and co-founded a Burning Man camp called Cosmicopia.

Darrin is a longtime practitioner of Vipassana (Mindfulness) meditation, which he has taught in various contexts. His other means of staying reasonably sane include swimming, dancing, making art, and helping to subvert the dominant paradigm.